It’s good to recognize the accomplishments of students, says second-year business student Joel Tye.

A native of Blenheim now living in Alumni Hall, he was one of dozens of residence students honoured for academic success during a reception Friday in Laurier Hall.

“Especially for students new to the university, having this sort of recognition event makes them feel welcome and feel good about their achievements,” Tye said.

Now a residence assistant himself, he recalls the support he received from UWindsor staff in his first year of study: “The environment of the building I lived in made it clear that there was always help if you needed it.”

That’s important, says Diane Rawlings, residence services department head. She told the honourees — residents with A averages and student leaders earning grades of at least B+ — that her staff is dedicated to their success.

“We believe in holistic education and that learning takes place in and out of the classroom, so we invest a lot of effort to make residence more than just a place to live,” she said. “It’s about creating a learning environment that complements and supports your personal growth.”

Tylene Gall, a first-year engineering student living in Alumni Hall, says she appreciates that atmosphere.

“It’s perfect for me. I’m really studious and I try to always be pro-active,” she said. “It’s a very quiet hall; everybody in there is there to work.”

Fourth-year acting student Jacob T. Free practices his monologue before classmates in preparation for Theatre Ontario’s Next Generation Showcase, held January 14 and 15 in Toronto.

Participating in the Next Generation Showcase is like the Olympics for senior acting students, says drama professor Kelly Daniels.

Fourth-year UWindsor students in the BFA Acting program headed to the event last month in Toronto. Hosted by Theatre Ontario, it provides graduating students from post-secondary drama programs across the country the opportunity to audition for industry professionals.

“In a way, all their training over three-and-a-half years leads to this moment,” Daniels says. “You get up there and you’ve got two minutes to prove yourself.”

And prove themselves this year’s group did, she says, noting that emails started arriving immediately after the 19 students completed their monologue performances.

“Some have had interviews, some have signed contracts with agents, some are fielding multiple offers to audition or for representation,” she says. “I tell them in advance not to expect anything, so this was a nice surprise.”

Daniels teaches the recital course, which prepares students for success in an industry she calls “highly competitive, with incredible rewards and challenges.”

Besides audition techniques and preparing monologues, she trains students in practical aspects of show business: how to file income taxes, prepare a personal budget, and write a cover letter.

“Acting is like no other art,” she says. “Their voices, their bodies are their instruments. Their hopes, their dreams, their fears are their medium. When you work with students in this capacity, you get to know them as people.”

The group represented the School of Dramatic Art beautifully at the showcase, says Daniels.

“It speaks to the training these kids have received and it is phenomenal,” she says. “The techniques that they learn come down to two minutes on stage to make their mark.”

A collaboration with computer science will allow forensics students to acquire skiils in information technology.

A new stream of specialization for honours students in the Forensic Sciences program will enable them to learn to apply Information Technology in the field.

Program chair Shashi Jasra says many people are now storing and sharing information through digital media.

“With advancements in technology, there will be increased demand for the forensic professionals with expertise in this field,” says Dr. Jasra. “We are restructuring Forensic Sciences programs with an eye to current and future changes in the job market.”

Instructors in the School of Computer Science will teach the information technology courses.

The program has also added new courses: Advances in Human Identification; Bioterrorism; Food and Environmental Forensics; New Perspectives in Forensic Evidence Analysis; Forensic Medicine Toxins and Pathology; Forensic Serology and DNA Applications.

“We are continuing to collaborate with the other departments at the university in order to provide more relevant options to the forensic sciences’ students,” Jasra says.

Windsor Law will present its 10th annual performance of “The Vagina Monologues” Tuesday at the Capitol Theatre.

It’s the 10th year for the event, which last year raised more than $10,000.

The Vagina Monologues is based on playwright Eve Ensler’s interviews with more than 200 women. This production is directed by law student Cassandra Wolff, who says its message is as relevant now as it was when it was written in 1995.

“With humour and grace the piece celebrates women’s sexuality and strength,” she says.

McMaster University physics professor Graeme Luke, senior fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and fellow of the American Physical Society, will deliver the Canadian Association of Physicists’ annual undergraduate lecture Tuesday, February 13, in Alumni Hall’s McPherson Lounge.

Dr. Luke will discuss “Exotic Probes and Extreme Conditions Reveal New States of Quantum Matter” at 3 p.m.

“Condensed matter systems provide an exciting laboratory for observing new states of quantum matter via emergence, where the collective behavior of electrons results in quasi-particles with fractional statistics, spin-charge separation, magnetic monopoles and Majorana fermions (particles that are their own anti-particles),” he explains.

“I will describe how we design and synthesize new quantum materials that can host these exotic new states of matter and then use a variety of experimental techniques including muon spin relaxation and neutron scattering to probe their properties.”

This event, sponsored by the physics department, is free and open to the public.

A workshop on campus March 9 will help to bridge the gap from research to starting a company.

Are you an innovative researcher? Do you have an idea for the next best thing or a message that needs to be spread?

A workshop on campus March 9 will focus on bridging the gap from research to starting a company.

The Entrepreneurship Practice and Innovation Centre (EPICentre) and the UWindsor Office of Research and Innovation Services are co-hosting “Values, Impact and Enterprises: Broadening the Reach of your Research.”

The free, full-day workshop includes lunch and will offer participants the skills necessary to begin the process of commercializing their research. Find more information, including registration details, on the event website.